Research: Reading The Serpent King to Connect to Students’ Lives and Experiences in Rural Contexts

Abstract

In this article, the authors describe a qualitative case study of one secondary teacher and her ninth-grade students in the rural Northwest reading Jeff Zentner’s novel The Serpent King. This work is situated in the recently developed theory of Critical Rural English Pedagogy which highlights the import of devoting attention to the unique aspects of rural life as well as having students critique and analyze related representations. Researchers collected the focal teachers’ lesson plans, activities, handouts, and student work and observed class discussion seminars once per week. They also conducted three semi-structured interviews with the teacher and engaged in weekly informal conversations with her. Through open and thematic coding, they discerned how the teacher constructed a culturally affirming and rich unit that honored her students’ lives and allowed them a space for validation and storytelling. Implications for pre- and inservice teachers are shared, including this illustration as a model for Critical Rural English Pedagogy, a group often missing from this scholarship.